updated 02:10 pm EDT, Fri August 14, 2009

Dell mini3i specs leaked

Full, albeit unofficial specs of Dell's mini3i smartphone have been leaked, answering nearly all questions about its first handset. The Android-powered phone will reportedly be more advanced than most Android phones with a 3.5-inch, 640x360 display as well as one of the first implementations of multi-touch on the Google platform. If so, the launch might come before the formal release of Android 2.0, which is rumored to get official multi-touch support.

Otherwise, the phone will be on par with devices like the Magic with a 3-megapixel camera that supports autofocus and video as well as GPS; Wi-Fi isn't mentioned, however, and is likely absent due to Chinese restrictions on the format. The government-backed Open Mobile System interface appears to be onboard and partly mimics the iPhone's interface.

The mini3i could be released within days, but despite quad-band GSM and EDGE support is unlikely to reach the US as-is given the company's failed attempt to launch a phone in the US earlier this year. Dell has regularly tried to compete with Apple in the handheld device space but has had no response to the iPhone; its Axim PDAs had no phone functionality and were canceled as the PDA market thinned out two years ago. [viaBGR]

Then data plans shouldn't be billed separately, then. Isn't it all data anyway? $80/month to use an iPhone with AT&T is too much. The Europeans are paying far less -- for both the phone and the plan (and getting 18 month contracts instead of 24).